We kinda touched on this in another post but I thought I’d start a thread on it. My reasons for thinking they will be here are that Curtis just isn’t going to bolt to be a late first to second round pick, and just like this year I think Martin will see that another year of maturing will be to his benefit. I also think we will be the best team in the state in 05-06.
Why did you put this in the recruiting forum???
You need Chris Paul to go pro for us to be the best team in the state and we can’t lose anyone.
I am also assuming, that you are assuming that May, Mccants and Felton will be gone???
yeah someone move this to the sports forum
I wont fully consider this topic until I see how this season plays out. The bigger question for both of them, but especially for Withers, is exposure. I believe the Ryan Gomes comparisons, but I believe Curtis is a better interior (and weaker perimeter) player than Gomes.
Even if they stay, we’ll still be losing a good bit. Plavich, love him or hate him, figures to be our #2 scorer. That’s a lot of PPG to reproduce & we didn’t get Gee. DeAngelo Alexander could step in right away, be he figures to be more of a replacement for Basden than Plav. And while DA has a great pedigree, Eddie has been our glue for a while. Those are some big shoes to fill.
We’ll be ok, especially if we sign another pure shooter, but missing out on Gee & Neal hurt. Maybe this Lane guy will sign and be the answer. I’d also like to see us sign Cunningham, given the likelihood of losing at least one of either Withers or Iti.
Paul is an amazing pg. Gosh I would love to have him at Charlotte.
Anyways, I think Withers will be here. If Iti has the least bit of a successful year say 12ppg. He’s gone. I don’t think he truely wants to be here to begin with.
I think Curtis will play all four. Iti would be fine if so many people weren’t depending on him. With Iti and Basden gone, we would still have a front line of Withers, Drayton, Alexander, Nance and whoever else we add (hopefully Cunningham & JUCO immediate contributor).
Based on what I’m hearing about Goldwire and Lewis, we’re in good shape at guard for a few years (except for a big-time shooter, although Bennett could fill the bill next year).
I think Withers stays, he is undersized or underathletic to be a first round pick. He seems to have a good head on his shoulder as well, I would expect him to test the draft but likely pull out. Gomes had two straight years of near 20-10 and was a shakey early 2nd round projection after his Junior year. So if Withers has another good season, he will likely be in the same boat. And the weak draft class rumors won’t really help because it will open the door for more international players to enter, there will still be 20-25 sure first round picks next year and a group of 15-20 guys at the pre-draft camps with serious chances of being one of those last 5-10 first round picks. And athleticism and size will probably get taken with those last few picks.
As for Iti, no one knows. That’s all there is to it, it’s just impossible to tell what he will be thinking(or probably more importantly, what the people around him will be thinking). I agree it’s gotta be a less than 50% chance he returns, but nothing is certain with him.
Either way, we HAVE to sign a PF/C for 05. Nance, Drayton and Mullis will be here for sure. We just need at least one more body in there(probably need two, what ever happened to Gee’s teammate Marks as a SF?). I hope we get a HS guy to sign in November and then find a JUCO guy after that.
I haven’t heard his name mentioned in a while, but don’t we have a forward coming in already for '05, Mitch Mullis?? He’s not real big, but he’s supposed to be sound fundamentally and a Bobby Kummer clone (i.e., a hustling ballplayer).
[i]Originally posted by Tenniner[/i]@Sep 7 2004, 06:56 PM [b] I haven't heard his name mentioned in a while, but don't we have a forward coming in already for '05, Mitch Mullis?? He's not real big, but he's supposed to be sound fundamentally and a Bobby Kummer clone (i.e., a hustling ballplayer). [/b]Yes, Mullis is already locked up for next year. He's 6'7" and has more of an inside game than Kummer did. He can play the 3 and 4. He's at New Hampton Prep this year, originally from the Winston Salem area. New Hampton Prep is same school Jerrel Lewis and Rashad McCants attended. They put out some good players and play great competition. Mullis will be a solid role player, down and dirty type guy.